10th January 2017

Happy New Year from all of us at the Guild. We are excited at what God has planned for The Guild both nationally and locally in 2017 and we look forward to working with you in the year ahead to bring those plans to fruition.

2016 was a good year for The Guild with a fantastic Annual Gathering including great speeches from the Moderator and Sally Magnusson and of course the Heart and Soul Band who had folk dancing in the aisles. We also had two fabulous Big Sings, at the General Assembly and in Greenock. It has been heartening to see folks come together in such large numbers and good spirits. We have also been able to use these events to highlight our ongoing partnership with The Guild in Livingstonia Synod CCAP in Malawi and enjoyed sharing time with both Rev Levi Nydono and Grey Sidra.

Our work with Projects Partners enables us to keep raising issues of importance both locally, nationally and internationally in the church and wider community. By shining the spotlight of THe Guild on issues such as FGM, the role of adults with learning difficulties in the church or climate change we are able to challenge and change things for the better.

We hope that you are refreshed after Christmas and ready to show that we are bold and strong as The Guild here in Scotland.

As a Guild member I have always been both inspired and humbled to hear about the amount and scope of work undertaken by the Guild in Christ’s name over many years. We are now very pleased and excited that we have established this new group at national level -The Guild Outreach Group which will recognise this service and formalise our many connections.

Our group members attend, work for and represent the Guild in meetings of Church of Scotland councils and committees and other organisations outside the Church of Scotland. They are well-placed to inform and include the Guild at many levels of Christian outreach. Through these connections we are able to work with others, gathering and sharing material, information and ideas with these partner bodies.

The Outreach Group meet together at National Council Meetings, with their reports then put on the Guild website. Please do look out for any articles or information in the Guild e-news and mailings. One of our group members, Brenda Graham, has written an excellent summary of the group and this is also available on the website.

With so much information now available to take in it may be an idea to display materials on your Guild notice board. It’s a great way to share all that takes place in the Guild with other members of your church and community. I guarantee that they will be pleasantly surprised and even amazed!

Please do write to let us know at Guild Office about YOUR Guild Outreach. There is so much wonderful Christian service at local, national and international level being undertaken through our Guilds. The Outreach Group look forward to hearing from you.

A national emergency was recently put in place in Bolivia as the reservoirs that serve the city of La Paz dried up, leaving nearly half a million people without water.

Cecila Cordova, our Bolivian Project partner at Christian Aid explains how the water shortages which have ravaged the rural communities who depend on the natural environment for their livelihood, have now reached La Paz.

"Last year we heard that Lake Poopó, south of La Paz, was disappearing which means that the Uru indigenous group will also disappear, because their culture is intertwined with the Lake and the rivers. The rest of the highlands of Bolivia have also been affected, especially in the area north of Potosí. Drought in this region, already the poorest in the country because of a drought 25 years ago, is again pushing people towards the cities. People in other regions of Bolivia, such as Oruro and Potosí, are fighting each other over water.

Our reservoirs are almost empty and the rationing schedule is not working at all. No one is certain of when or for how long they will have access to water. Our electricity supply also depends on the same reservoirs and to make matters worse, the power company recently announced cuts. This has increased the feeling of vulnerability in La Paz."

Please keep Cecilia and the people she works with in Bolivia in your prayers at this difficult time. Also maybe think about how you, your Guild and your church are responding to the challenges of climate change

In August we featured a story about a young man called Robin Downie and his Guild scarf! They had made it all the way to Iceland and we wondered if that would be the furthest our scarf would travel.

This month we have managed to go even further and have made it all the way to North India! Communications and Marketing Group Convener Marian Macintyre is there visiting family and was grateful for her Guild tartan in the evenings when temperatures would drop dramatically.

Marian is wearing one of our new tartan stoles that are available to order. They are £30 each but well worth the money to wear both casually and at formal events.

So can anyone beat North India in 2017?

Send us your photos of your Guild tartan on tour!

New Monkland Guild member selected for ministry

New Monkland Guild are delighted that Laura Digan, one of their young members, has been selected as a candidate for the ministry.

We would ask Gods blessing on Laura and ask you to keep Laura in your prayers as she begins this exciting new journey with God.

Wormit & Balmerino Guild recently held a Fashion Show which was aimed at promoting Charity Shops and the organizations behind them. Some of our members visited shops run by Sense, Save the Children and Barnardo’s, who allowed members to take some outfits away on a ‘Sale or return’ basis. They modelled these for the Show, and told the audience something about the work of each charity involved.

Some of the outfits were sold that day: everyone learned about the advantages of shopping at charity shops – for The Guild and for the charity concerned! – and we enjoyed tea while discussing the show afterwards.

Here are some of the Guild models, with Margaret, our ‘presenter’, in the background. Some of wore their charity purchases on Christmas Day!

Wed 25 Jan: give thanks for the music and poetry that has shaped our lives as we celebrate the work of Robert Burns.

Thurs 26 Jan: Jan Patterson, who represents the Guild on the Church and Society Council

Fri 27 Jan: on Holocaust Memorial Day pray that Holocaust education will have a universal dimension and serve as an appropriate platform for building respect for human rights, increasing tolerance and defending our common humanity.

Sat 28 Jan: Fay Platt, who represents the Guild on the World Mission Council

Sun 29 Jan: organisations Councils of the Church as they consider applying to be a Guild Project.

Mon 30 Jan: Margaret Habeshaw, who represents the Guild on the Mission and Discipleship Council.

Tues 31 Jan: Guilds meeting in nursing homes, that they might be an encouragement and support to folks they meet.